Pfizer weighs £60bn bid for Astra Zeneca

American drug giant makes secret approach for struggling rival, paving way for biggest ever British takeover

Patents on several Pfizer drugs, including Viagra, are on the point of expiring (Bloomberg)

PFIZER, the world’s biggest drug company, has made a tentative approach to Astra Zeneca about a possible takeover that could value its British rival at more than £60bn.

Informal conversations about a possible tie-up have taken place in recent weeks, according to senior investment bankers and industry sources.

A sale of Astra would be the biggest-ever foreign takeover of a UK business. It is the country’s tenth-largest company with 50,000 employees globally.

Astra is believed to be resisting Pfizer’s advances and no talks are currently under way, say insiders. However, Pfizer, famous for its anti-impotence drug Viagra, could come back with a fresh approach.

The New York company is keen to deploy a $70bn (£42bn) cash pile that it has accumulated in overseas subsidiaries. Repatriating the cash to America so it could be distributed to shareholders would lumber it with a colossal tax bill.